Case Western Reserve University
OP-8: Sustainable Dining
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
Reporter |
Jim
O'Brien Resident District Manager Bon Appetit - CWRU |
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host a farmers market, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or urban agriculture project, or support such a program in the local community?:
A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
The University Farm produces fresh food year with a mushroom cellar, greenhouse and hoop houses to extend the growing season. During the Summer and Fall harvest a farm stand is held at the Farm, and occasionally offered on campus. Additional the University's staff volunteer garden allows volunteers who tend the garden to take some of the harvest, the rest of the harvest goes to a local neighborhood food bank.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host a sustainability-themed food outlet on-site, either independently or in partnership with a contractor or retailer?:
A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor support disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through its food and beverage purchasing?:
A brief description of the support for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
Bon Appetit requires their chefs to purchase 20% local and incentivizes a high percentage of that be from SMEs.
Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events or promote plant-forward options?:
A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
Bon Appetit does not have continually scheduled “Meatless Mondays” yet, but on an everyday basis, Bon Appétit has committed to continuing to shift the proteins they serve from animal- to plant-based sources. They have set specific ounces-per-guest-per-meal targets and launched detailed reporting on this and other metrics, via the new dashboard, for every company location to ensure accountability. Chefs are receiving training on moving their menus away from beef and cheese, offering specifically defined reasonable portions of any animal protein (less than or equal to those of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines), and techniques to emphasize plant-based proteins.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a vegan dining program that makes diverse, complete-protein vegan options available to every member of the campus community at every meal?:
A brief description of the vegan dining program:
Vegan and vegetarian options are made available at every meal, as required by Bon Appetit company policy.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor inform customers about low impact food choices and sustainability practices through labelling and signage in dining halls?:
A brief description of the sustainability labelling and signage in dining halls:
Bon Appetit prioritizes a education campaign throughout the year in the campus dining halls and restaurants that educates consumers on the benefits of eating local, promotes consumers choosing locally sourced meal options and occasionally throughout the year educates on the benefits on eating vegetarian and vegan for lowering impact.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor participate in a competition or commitment program and/or use a food waste prevention system to track and improve its food management practices?:
A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
Our on-site food provider, Bon Appetit, has kitchen and sustainability standards in place that include preparing food in small batches and cooking from scratch, to include stocks from scraps, that reduce waste. Pre-consumer food waste from dining halls are composted at our University farm. Bon Appetit is piloting LeanPath software in our University's kitchens this year.
Has the institution or its primary dining services contractor implemented trayless dining (in which trays are removed from or not available in dining halls) and/or modified menus/portions to reduce post-consumer food waste?:
A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:
Bon Appetit has eliminated trays in all student dining halls; only retail food areas areas have trays available for use. Our local chapter of Food Recovery Network has partnered with Bon Appetit and its outlets, as well as other local businesses, to capture leftover food for donation. They collect from locations five days a week, and pick-up a bulk donation stored by Bon Appetit on Saturday. The food is taken to one of two hunger centers, and provided to patrons in the form of items to eat on site, to take home, and integrated into a hot meal.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor donate food that would otherwise go to waste to feed people?:
A brief description of the food donation program:
Bon Appetit regularly donates surplus food before closing cafeterias for breaks - unprocessed food, typically surplus produce, is donated to different local food pantry type non-profit organizations. Food Recovery Network, a student organization, works with Bon Appetit to donate surplus prepared foods from two kitchens and various retail outlets bon on and off-campus to a different local food pantry.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor divert food materials from the landfill, incinerator or sewer for animal feed or industrial uses?:
A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
Used cooking oil is taken by Ohio based rendering companies that is used in a variety of industrial channels to be made into other products.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
Bon Appetit composts the majority of its pre-consumer kitchen waste; this waste is composted at the CWRU Farms for use in gardens that grow produce which is then used by dining services. The Tinkham Veale University Center has a pulper installed to aid in composting pre-consumer kitchen scraps. All of this composted material is turned into soil amendment at the University Farm.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
Not all dining locations have post-consumer composting collection, but one of the largest dining Halls, Fribley does, as well as Sustainability House, a themed residential living experience on campus. All the collected post-consumer materials also goes into the University Farm's compost program.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor utilize reusable service ware for “dine in” meals?:
A brief description of the reusable service ware program:
The two main student dining halls are "dine in" and provide only reusable dinnerware for all meals. The Tinkham Veale University Center food court also offers the option of using reusable plates for dine-in meals.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor provide reusable and/or third party certified compostable containers and service ware for “to-go” meals (in conjunction with an on-site composting program)?:
A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
In an effort to reduce food waste, "to-go" containers are not offered at dining facilities.
Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor offer discounts or other incentives to customers who use reusable containers instead of disposable or compostable containers in “to-go” food service operations?:
A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
Bon Appetit offers resuable mug discounts in many of its retail locations: Starbucks NRV (1.00 refill coffee), Tomlinson Marketplace (.99 refill coffee, fountain beverage and iced tea), BRB Cafe (.99 coffee), KSL Cafe (.99 coffee) and WRB Cafe (.99 coffee).
A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Bon Appetit Management Company provides a wellness indicator for all foods, that indicate at a glance whether something is on the healthier end of the spectrum or the not-so-healthy end by using a colored up or down arrow, along with a per-serving calorie count.
Since 2013, Bon Appetit has been working through a sodium reduction campaign to enable their chefs to create healthy and delicious food with less salt.
Starting in 2016, Bon Appetit has worked through their fellows on a healthy kids in the kitchen program that partners with campus cafes to teach local children, oftentimes children of staff or faculty, to prepare healthful food.
Bon Appetit has also committed to encouraging healthy food choices and appropriate serving sizes as a matter of course in their dining facilities, and making it easy for those with food restrictions (i.e. vegan, vegetarian, gluten free) to find compliant foods.
They are committed to emphasizing the use of fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains and use a "stealth" model to increase nutrition through healthy cooking techniques in everyday food production.
Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.